Gran Diccionario Oxford/The Oxford Spanish Dictionary [Spanish]

by Jane Horwood

Book Overview

Compiled by expert teams of Spanish and English lexicographers, the Oxford Spanish Dictionary provides the richest, most contemporary coverage of Spanish from around the world. The result of thorough research using sophisticated computer programs to search for new terminology and ensure that all the latest vocabulary from Latin American Spanish and American English is covered, this brand new edition covers over 24 varieties of Spanish as it is written...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN: 0198604750
• ISBN13: 9780198604754
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 2040 Pages
• Weight: 6.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 3.0" x 10.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

One of the leaders in the field

My Master's thesis was a review and rating of large Spanish-English dictionaries. Since then, I have conducted follow-up studies to keep up with the market. I find the leaders in the field to be Collins (HarperCollins), Larousse, and Oxford. Each publisher appears to be trying to one-up the others with the newest and best edition. The real winner is the consumer. My joint review of these three dictionaries is found here and duplicated under both of its competitors. Here are a few of the factors which distinguish a good bilingual dictionary from a bad one. To begin with, ignore certain publishers' marketing ploys such as entry and translation counts. They says nothing about the value of the words chosen. Likewise, ignore the word "unabridged" in the title. No work is truly unabridged except the monumental monolingual Oxford English Dictionary. The first valid factor to consider is lexicographic technique. A bad dictionary simply lists translations. Take, for example, the entry in the Cassell's Spanish Dictionary under the English headword loop: "lazo, gaza, nudo; ojal, presilla, alamar; anillo; recodo, comba, curva, vuelta," etc. For the English reader writing in Spanish, this is hopelessly inadequate, as the dictionary provides no clue as to which translation to use in which situation. Compare the treatment of the same word in the far superior American Heritage Spanish Dictionary. "(length of line) lazo; (coil) vuelta; (bend) curva; (circular path) vuelta, circuito; (fastener) presilla" etc. Here, the user is given glosses in the native language to assist in identifying the right word for the context. Example sentences are also a tremendous help. The Collins, Larousse, and Oxford are all excellent in this respect, presenting a wealth of practical information to guide users through the semantic and syntactic complexities. The second factor is organization, which is important in large desk dictionaries. In an entry for a complex word like "get," a bad dictionary may force users to lose time searching for their translation through unbroken columns that can extend for more than a page. This was a problem--now corrected--in previous versions of the large Larousse dictionary. Today, the current editions of the Larousse, Collins and Oxford divide long entries by meaning into well-titled paragraphs. This scheme makes these dictionaries a joy to use. Third, a good dictionary should maintain an up-to-date lexicon, including such cultural and technological additions to the language as "baby sitter," "FAQ's," "hostile takeover," "software," "flash drive." Larousse, Collins and Oxford are leaders in this respect; their frequent revisions are more than mere window dressing and do a creditable job of covering the most recent additions to the language. Fourth, idioms, slang, and cusswords can present real problems to the language learner, and a dictionary needs to handle them in a clear and frank fashion. All three dictionaries get it right, giving styli

From a Spaniard's point of view: el más completo

I am a native Spaniard working in US English, in a somewhat technical field. That said, this is the dictionary that gives me the most correct equivalents. Even that review someone posts about "encimeras" (kitchen counters) and "barras" (counter in a bar) being messed up would actually be correct if you were looking for the words in Spanish from Spain. I have even tried some other dictionaries specific for engineering related terms and I still like this one better; the examples and nuances presented are the most helpful thing to me. A list of possibilities without indicating differences between the options would not dissipate the doubt. Often, it is not only the word that I look for, but how I can place it in a sentence and what prep it goes with, and this dictionary continues to fulfill my expectations. En resumen: Es el que más acepciones presenta, con escritura fonética y muchos ejemplos de uso práctico en los que las palabras aparecen con sus preposiciones correspondientes. Incluso a nivel técnico, el más completo -y útil- que conozco.

The best general bilingual dictionary out there!

Although I am a business translator, I sometimes have non-business assignments. This dictionary is by far the best! It is the most complete, and the most current. Even during my spare time when I read books in English and Spanish, this dictionary is a valued companion, and I can even find most of the slang words I come across. I really recommend it highly!

the best

I am a native speaker of English, fluent in Spanish. I have several dictionaries, including that of the Real Academia (Spanish only). I find this Oxford to be the best bilingual dictionary I have used. It is precisely by context and examples that one learns to avoid mis-use of words. It is not always possible to just translate them. Take the word "free"--in Spanish it can be "libre" (political) or "gratis" (no charge). This is also the best at specifying Latin American usages--it does not just say "Latin America," lumping all countries together--it specifies which countries say what. The Larousse, on the other hand, lumps all together, favors Spanish over Lat. Am. usage, and is oriented toward British English. I have not had trouble with the cover, as some others have mentioned. If I did, I'd complain directly to Oxford.

Not for travel, but the best dictionary out there

Absolute best Spanish-English dictionary on the market. This dictionary was recommended to me as a graduate student in Spanish by my advisor, one of the leading Spanish linguistics professors in the country-and it has never disappointed me.When buying a foreign language dictionary, it is extremely important to look up a variety of words with multiple definitions, and see whether you are clear which Spanish word corresponds to which definition. A good test case is a word like "kid": be sure that you know the word in Spanish that corresponds to "child" and the word meaning "young goat". ...